Another munitorum manual update. I figure about halfway done here.
Page 18
..the Cadian 91st comprised ten companies, each of three hundred and fifty men, making a total regiment size (including command units, ancillary units of support staff and one non-combatant) of five thousand and thirty-seven souls, making the 91st one of the smaller Cadian units.
This number does not include the drivers, gunners and crews of the various tanks and artillery pieces that accompany the regiment, for such units are despatched and deployed on an 'as needed basis' and to include such numbers would unneccessarily complicate collation of regimental data and can lead to what are known as 'flakboard' regiments.
The size and disposition of the Cadian 91st. 5000 troops is sort of middle for them.. the Cadian 8th for example is 8000 troops (at least by 3rd edition codex, other sources suggest maybe half that) whilst the mechanised regiments of the 88th (Cadian blood) had only bout a thousand (in 3 companies), whilst the 114th at Taros had over 4000 personnel.
Also note the fact that unlike depiction in 5th edition (and more like the 114th in IA3 or the 8th in 3rd) the 91st has what appears to be an inherently 'combined arms' approach to warfare - tanks and artillery being included as well as infantry.
Further note the 'flak board' regiment reference, which as the subscript notes are those regiments that are 'strong' on paper but weak or nonexistent in reality (again the drawbakc of the 'regiment' system in the Guard. But remember, this isn't a drawbakc of the Munitorum. The Munitorum helps imrpove the guard and make it better!
)
Page 18
The sheer amount of personnel required to keep an Imperial Guard regiment in the field is staggering, and to organise such an effort requires thousands of dedicated Departmento munitorum scriveners and notaries.
Probably many thousands, more like tens of thousands given earlier allusions. Given billions of regiments that can be truly staggering amounts of bureaucrats,.
Page 18 sub-note
Such a term [flakboard regiments] denotes a regiment that is insubstantial and does not match what the Departmento Munitorum's books might otherwise suggest. During the Kulifor Offensive, the 32nd Hurlach appeared to be at full strength, and were ordered to the weakest portion of the front when in reality, the regiment had been wiped out six weeks earlier. Only when the enemy forces flanked the Imperial position was the error realised.
Flakboard regiments defined. Again, not a flaw of the Munitorum, and anyone who says otherwise is a defeatist and a heretic.
Page 18 sub-note
Where familial connections may secure an individual high office within other regiments resulting in some officers lacking the combat expeirence, such does not happen within the Cadian regiments! Trained to fight before they can read or write, CAdian adults have already served the Emperor and their homeworld for many years before being recruited into the Imperial guard.
Again politics and bribery can cause problems in the leadership structure of the Guard, although the Cadians (by implication here) aren't prone to this. nor are the Krieg, but the Kriegers have their own problems.
Page 18
Imperial Guard companies are usually divided into three platoons, each platoon consisting of a command squad and three other squads, which may be either infantry squads or Armoured Fist squads or a combination of both. Each squad (if it does not already have one) may be given its own mechanised transport in the form of a Chimera. In addition, the platoon may include additional units, such as tanks, squads from other reigments - including abhuman regiments - or extra squads from the original regiment. A platoon may include as many as three of these additonal units, one for each of its squads.
Company and platoon organization, again note how they can be arranged (infantry or mechanised or a combination) and infantry can be assigned chimeras at need, plus attached support units. The interesting thing is that its implied the Chimeras may be 'part' of the formation and not an attachment per se, althoguh whether this reflects an assignment from the small 'general pool' at least some regiments may have, or addiitonal equipment supplied (on an at need basis) by the Munitorum, we don't know.. but its interesting to know.
We also don't know how this organization or 'mixing' comes about. It may be 'organic' to the regiment at time of formation (despite what the IG codexes sometimes say), or it may be something done 'in the field' resulting from individual regiments being broken up and recombined into a more 'combined' arms grouping.
Page 18
Each squad consists of ten Guardsmen, one of whom will be a sergeant. These non-commissioned officers are the glue that binds the Imperial guard and every soldier should take special note of his Sergeant's words, for he will have seen a great deal of active combat.
...
Two Guardsmen may form a heavy weapons crew, to allow the squad to engage either mutliple targets or enemy armour with a high probability of success. To further specialise, a skilled Guardsman may be equipped with a weapon more advanced than a lasgun, such as a flamer, meltagun, or plasma gun.
The role of Sergeants (as NCOs) in the guard and the speical/heavy weapons component of a squad. Considering that it was mentioned earlier how the heavy and special weapons squads would be held by the command platoon, this is probably a useful supplement.
Page 18
These weapons are rare and when Gaurdsmen trained to utilise them are killed, every effort should be made to retrieve the weapon intact. Even if the bearer is only wounded, the weapon's retrieval should take first priority. FAilure to observe such protocols will result in swift disciplinary action being taken by the regimental Commissars.
Naturally the Munitorum is going to emphasize the equipment it is responsible for over the men. The reality tends to be more mixed - some officers will favor the men over the equipment, or both equally. And given how they let the Krieg act when it comes to men and equipment, I have a hard time believing that 'rare and valuable equipment' is actually true and not just Munitorum bullshit.
Page 19
The basic load of an Imperial Guardsman includes his lasgun with six power packs, close combat weapon, Frag grenades, and laspistol. This discounts such equipment as specailised armour (such as the Vitrian reflective armour or personal items- which are discouraged.) but includes basic necessitites such as ration packs for four days, arrticles of toiletry and items required en route ot the battlefield. Altogether, this load comes to 25 kg and it will be seen that multipled out over the size of the regiment, this basic load comes to over fifty two tons of equipment. And this figure simply represents the equipment required by the Guardsman to move from one location to another and exist.
..
The supply needs of a regiment vastly increases during periods of combat, with ammunitiona nd fuel requirements more than quadrupling during a single engagement.
Basic IG loadout. Note that some things (like number of powerpacks) can vary.. the uplifting primer and FFG say 4( although I've heard that the Only War beta specified some regiments having six.) And with the combat periods quadrupling that, the actual numbers could be closer to 16-24 packs (which means that the 900-2000 shots for 6 powerpacks can run closer to 3600-8000 shots. Which is a hell of alot of shots for a single soldier to carry in one loadout. I wonder if the 25 kg includes armour, which given its mass in FFG, could acocunt for over half that mass. That's about 55 pounds. By contrast, the average US soldier tends to carry at least
63 pounds of gear, so the Guardsman has a slight advantage in terms of basics at the very least. Possibly more if the basic loadout includes body armor. It should also be noted that the guardsman carries slightly more food (the US troopers loadout includes 2-3 MREs, as opposed to the 4 day ration supply for the Guardsmen.) It also assumes both the Guardsman and the US trooper are of equal cpaability, which may or may not be the case (the Guardsman could be better.. or worse.. depending on homeworld of recruitment. Cadia for example is slightly heavier gravity, so they probably are used to carrying heavier loads.)
Page 19
Enough to fire a minimum of 2,000 shots, dependent on power setting
subscript for the six power packs on basic load. If that quadruples.. well like I said, thats a shit ton of gunfire potential. 2000 shots out of 6 packs is ~334 shots per pack, but I'd figure its an approximate figure. Maybe closer to 340 or 350. I'd call it between 300 and 400 shots, at least at these settings (since later on they gow ith a lower figure.) A few novels (like the latter Ghosts ones) imply similarily high lasgun capacities (hundreds of shots)
Interestingly with sixth edition, a power pack carries between 100-150 shots or so
as well, which is a nice corroboration.
Page 19
During the 91st's recent acitvity on Cadia, the regiment consumed 400,000 lasgun power packs, 120,000 ration packs, over 3 million gallons of fuel, 13,500 pints of Type O negative and fired enough ordnance to level a continent (estimated.)
Assuming 5000 troops and 1 ration pack a day that would be about a month. we'll assume between 1 month and 10 months (less than a year). 3 million gallons of fuel in a yeear is intersting.. assuming a full year and constant use that works out to at least 5-6 gallons per minute, so maybe 1/10th that per second. Even if you only have 20 vehicles in the whole regiment, each vehicle is consuming about 1/5 to 1/4 of a gallon every minute. According to
this the Bradley gets 1 MPG and has a range of 300 miles (so 300 gallons) and a 41 mph speed.. call it 7.3 hours, which if I do the math works out to around .68 gallons per minute. This could suggest 40K vehicles are (again) more efficient as other sources have hinted, but there's too much guessing involved to be totally sure. The efficiency either way is roughly in the same magnitude of modern vehicles, at least, and there's good reason to believe it might be better.
400,000 power packs for 5000 troops is 80 powerpacks per trooper used up. Which is 1 powerpack per 3-4 days at 10 months, or 2-3 powerpacks per day at one month. The former sounds excessive, but one key point to note is that if these are typical powerpacks they can be recharged, and like most batteries they probably have a number of charges they are good for (which for many modern batteries is in the scores or hundreds of times IIRC) which actually makes the usage alot more impressive.
Alternately, it may also suggest the powerpacks may only charge a few times before being discarded (perhaps to have greater energy capacity). Heck they may even be non-rechargable batteries (It wouldn't surprise me.)
Which brings us to the 'enough ordnance to level a continent.) Let's assume the regiment has aroudn 100 artillery guns. We'll ignore missile launchers and mortars and similar ordnance, and the fact the 91st isnt a Artillery regiment. Based on the Inferno magazine the Basilisk can pull 2 rounds a minute (1 per 30 seconds) and 35 rounds an hour sustained (1 round per 2 minutes, basically.) I'll average that out to one round a minute cuz I'm lazy. Assuming a full year we get 525,600 shells per gun for a year, which works out to around 53 million shells total. If we assume our continent is 1000 km across in both directions, thats 1e12 square metres which works out to ~19,000 square meters per shell, which works out to around 150-200 meter diameter for the blast. Near as I can tell a 15mm had a 100m casualty radius and 50m kill radius, the 8inch had a 80m kill radius as per
here, so I'd assume its casualty radius is 50% greater. If we assume the radius I estimated was casualty radius, that means that the Basilisk (125-132mm) falls somewhere between a 155-203mm shell, which is impressive enough. If its kill radius, we're talking easilyl 3-4x greater (at least) than the Kill radius of the 155mm (2-3x the kill radius of a 203mm) which is even more impressive. But 'leveling' a continent could encompass far more than just killing or injuring people, so it could be as great or greater than that.
If we're really conservative, we could use DPICM (which can saturate a 200 m diameter as per
here which means the Basilisk shell is slightly better.
Another way to look at it is to sasume that the Basilisk has the same kill/casualty radius as a 155mm (or just use the DPICM (each shell taking up maybe 10-30 thousand square metres) we get between 30 and 100 million shells. A Basilisk weighs 38 kg by Imperial armour (6 inch weighs 43-44 kg, which implies a 15% improvement in yield.) which means that the single regiment expended some 1.1 million to 4 million tons of ordnance within a year. If we go with the Inferno basilisk shell, which weighs 19.5 kilos the mass halves roughly, but the shells are 2.2x more effective than a 155mm.
This is all still very approximate, its less precise than I originally estimated. and yet that a single regiment can in a matter of months or less expend enough firepower to level a continent is impressive evne without the numbers, and it syas impressive even if its of by an order of magnitude or more.
Page 20
Maintaining the appropriate nutrition during assault missions is a continuous challenge mainly due to diminished appetites of individuals under stress. Recognising the importance of good nutrition in maintaining physical and mental alertness in Guardsmen, the Deparrtmento Munitorum employs nutritional ration packs designed for short-term, high-stress missions. Experience shows that Guardsmen usually consume about half their nutrients needed, leaving them in a state called negative energy balance. The consequences of being in negative energy balance while under these circumstances range from weight loss to fatigue to mental impairments, all of which are punishable offenses.
An individuals physiological and nutritional staus can markedly affect his ability to maximise performance during missions and may compromise effectiveness. With the number of these missions increasing, the optimisation of rations has become a high priority. Any Guardsman neglecting to eat when food is available will be severely punished according to the discretion of the ranking officer.
While this seems to contradict the 'Guardsmen are cannon fodder and the Munitorum/officers don't care about the lives of individual soldiers' thematic crap, I should note that seeing that troopers are well fed and fit and generally healthy is not neccesarily due to altrusim. In the same way you might keep a pet or horse in good condition, or provide regular maintenance to your gear (weapons, vehicles, equipment, etc.) to keep it in working order, a Guardsman is probably considered in the same way. Proper feeding, health, etc. are probably just deemed the basics to permit the machine to function well.
Page 21
Equipping a regiment at its inception is a relatively simple business, with much of the equipment coming from local sources, either on the planet of raising itself or from a nearby world better able to meet the needs of the regiment. Of course, outfitting a regiment with the thousands of items its Guardsmen need in order to be delcared ready is only half the battle. The combat needs of the regiment must be supplied throughout its functional lifetime, no matter where it is in the Emperor's glorious galaxy.
Again supply often comes from local sources (both at the time of raising and in the field), which can often be supplemented by forge worlds or other industrial worlds and the occasional supply/depot the munitorm may have set up.
Page 21
Mass conveyors arrive in-system within a week of the regiment's entry into the Departmento Munitorum Register of Regimental Inception and the conveyance of troops to their transports may now commence once the proper authenticaiton paperwork has been completed in triplicate. Should naval assets prove insufficient to transport the regiment quickly enough, the ranking Departmento Munitorum officer may comamandeer any local ships with the asistance of the regimental Commissar.
Implies a week or so transit time, although over what distance we dont know. Also note the bureacratic triplicate bullshit. Also again 'comandeering' ships at need to transport the regiment.
Page 21
Aboard ship, the regiment's training continues, though in the case of many Cadian regiments, this is simply a case of honing skills already possessed by its Guardsmen..
Again Cadian regiments seem to come very well trained already, with minimal further training required. Probably reflects either the benefits of direct PDF recruitment, or recruitment from one of the 'famous' regimental worlds or what passes for IG/Munitorum administered worlds (Fortress/GArrision worlds, IIRC the name right.)
Page 21
.. it must now requisition supplies from the forward operating base of the Departmento Munitorum upon the planet in which its area of engagement lies. Supply and liaison officers will facilitate the transition from stockpiled supplies aboard ship to a more regularly supplied chain upon the planet's surface.
Logistics and supply 'in the field' so to speak. I wonder if places like Vraks are supposed to be 'forward operating bases' and their apparent permanance simply reflects either the bureaucratic nature of the Munitorum (and its mindset) or reflects the fact that the area in and around the Eye (where Vraks is located, approximately) is a perpetual warzone.
Officers cleared for such need to undergo Munitorum training and evaluation before supplies are released and must also pass a genetic purity test. Else the supplies are delayed. More bureaucracy! Remember, this IMPROVES the Guard massively.
Page 21
With Imperial Guard regiments fighting all across the galaxy, it is a matter of some importance that they be continuously supplied with those items that allow them to wage war in the name of Cadia and the Imperium. To facilitate this, the Departmento Munitorum has conducted numerous studies of the items most commonly requested by regiments and has created vast stockpiles on heavily guarded Departmento Munitorum supply worlds within the systems of Segmentum Command at Mars, Kar Duniash, Hydraphur, Bakka, and Cypra Mundi. Cadian stockpiles are loctaed on bases that are in close proximity ot Segmentum Obscuras at Hydraphur and Cypra Mundi.
So in addition to being Naval headquarters and fleet reserves for mothballed ships, Segmentum bases also are strategic reserves for the Munitorum and Guard. Possibly both in terms of garrison troops (stationed in the system) as well as basic supplies. Considering the Naval fleet reserve is there, it can make at least a little sense for the Munitorum to keep a depot handy with at least some basics (they can dispatch it as needed, although handling it at the Segmentum level has tob e a colossal headache and unwieldy as hell, given again the hundreds or thousands of separate SEctors a Segmentum would have to deal with.)
Page 23
Such supplies are based on the researches and findings of Hierarch Plutaria (236-377.M35) and are as true today as they were in his day.
Again, Munitorum mindset at work. IT MAKES THINGS BETTER.
Page 23
With wars being fought throughout the galaxy, let alone Segmentum Obscuras, Departmento Munitorum tasking orders come to each of these worlds every day and entire fleets are despatched across the stars to the various regiments, bearing the most commonly required supplies to each sector currently designated as being at war. With the unreliability of some links in the communications chain (caused by lax reporting or errors in warp/time calculations) it is not always possible to guarantee that such supplies will reach their intended recipients with such speed as may be desired.
Well of course not. not when you are dispatching them from teh segmentum level to sector level or less! Indeed if it weren't for more local sources (forge and industiral worlds, local planets, etc.) the Guard probably would grind to a halt if it had to rely solely on the Segmentum bases for supply - which is a rather dramatic contrast from the Great Crusade era (where thousands of fleets could receive supply from Mars or nearby worlds....)
Also if Sector headquarters (naval and otherwise) had their own depots to stockpile and provide supplies, that might actually be more responsive. The Segmentum level could simply be the primary redistribution point to those individual stockpiles.
Page 23
Clearly the idea of supplying individual needs of regiments (or even sub-sectors) at a Segmentum level is impossible, so supplies of arms, ammunition, food, etc. are despatched to sector commands where a further level of refinement is applied and local weighting factors are employed to further break down the supply needs of each of the sector's sub-sectors: factors such as the number and intensity of active war zones, locally available supplies and the backlog of existing supply demands.
Thousands upon thousands of scribes and accounting servitors check and recheck each and every supply request htat comes up the chain from planetary level and calculate the best means of meeeting that request. Often this can take some time, as each request's solution must be authorised by three levels of Departmento Munitorum sector command before so much as a single ration is packed.
With estimated supply needs confirmed and authorised, Departmento Munitorum approved free captains and Navy vessels begin the shipping of material to those sub-sectors designated as recipients. At sub-sector command, a much more reactive system of supply exists, and within this dynamic structure, specific systems may make requrests to the Departmento Munitorum through previously established channels. Such requests will then be passed to sector command and onward to Segmentum command. (most commonly for Cadian regiments, this is Segmentum Obscurus), where they will be adjudged based on current demands of availability and supply.
Below this level, are individual system and planetary commands, where Departmento Munitorum personnel close to the source of demand will assist in the correct methods for supply requisition and dispersal of material.
Within active war zones, Departmento Munitorum officers will be part of the command structure of the regiment...
more on Munitorum logistics and the way things are organized and distrubted. Again fairly bureaucratic, but I'm not sure if there would be a better way (there probably is, I'm ust not seeing it.) Again the noteworthy thing is how things seem to be fairly well organized and handled (if bureaucratic) at the sector, subsector and even planetary levels.. very inter-connected by 40K standards. More than you can say at any higher levels (since they flat out say handling the needs of individual sectors/subsectors has to be handled at the sector level because the segmentum commands can't do it.)
This also provdies a bit of clarification about how the supply chains might work. At the top there is the segmentum leve, which seems to be the 'collection' point of a Segmentum's worth of tithes. Although keeping the resources at the sector level would probably make sense (since they would just return to the sector at some point anyhow) I expect this approach is due to the aforementioned bureacuracy - they'd be thinking that it would have to be 'properly' allocated, and simply shipping excess off where it is supposed to go from one sector to another on an individual basis probably doesn't occur to them. So its more effort this way, but it still ends up distributed.
Once (re) distirbuted to the sector commands, the materials are probably held and distributed on an at-need basis to subsectors, etc. Hell the process probably repeats at the subsector level to distribute it to individual planets (or conflicts.) Three levels (planetary, subsector, and sector) and all that.
Not quite sure how a place like Vraks fits into this. Maybe its one of the munitorum stockpiles established at a lower 'level', and it may have a 'temporary' designation (although in 40K, and epsecially in munitorum bureaucratic mindsets, 'temporary' could be a very fucking long time too.)
Page 24
The regimental Departmento Munitorum officer monitors the consumption of supplies and his orders are to be obeyed at all times. Failure to do so will result in the intervention of the regimental Commissar...
...
In order to maximise the efficiency of resupply, each regiment will have several levels of supply liaison officers beneath him. Each officer monitors the consumption of material and makes any observations he feels may enhance the efficiency of the company/platoon/squad's usage of supplies. After a designated period of time, where supply requisitions come directly to the Departmento Munitorum officer, he will make a recommendation to the officer above him as to the supply needs of those levels of the regiment he is responsible for. In this manner, it is possible to build a clear picture of the needs of the regiment.
With the needs of each level of the regiment decided upon, it is the duty of each officer (or non-comissioned officer) to make supply requests using the forms appropriate to his level of command....
...
Each form is then authenticated by that person's Departmento Munitorum liaison officer and then passed to his superior upon its validation. The senior Departmento Muniforum officer must then decide upon the authenticity of each of these supply requests before then authorising them with his own stamp and that of the regimental Commissar and Commanding Colonel of the regiment. Once all such authority has been granted, teh completed supply requests will be passed beyond the regiment to the Departmento Munitorum supply chains supporting the war zone.
Again alot of bureaucratic crap tied up in the logistics process. I also get the distinct impression you have the Munitorum officers supplying the regiments and shit operating on 'what they think is true' rather than what actually is true - following procedures and 'empierically derived estimates' and benchmarks and crap like that rather than actually looking at a regiment's neeeds. Again, more bureaucratic and grimdark that way.
I also like how they keep doing the 'If you don't do things our way, we'll bring the Commissar down on you' like he's a blunt stick.
Page 24
At the discretion of each level of Departmento Munitorum supply liaison officer, a 'marker' designating extreme urgency on the request order may be applied to hasten the deployment of supplies. This is known as an Officia Necessitas and may be added to any supply request, designateing that it is of a level of importance beyond the norm. Various distinctions of Officia Necessitas may be employed, ranging from Officia Necessitas Caridnal to Officia Necessitas Peon.
The full scope of such levels of 'Necessitas' would take multiple volumes to cover, and incorrect usage of the mark is a court martial offense. Again in theory this would help to streamline the otherwise cumbersome process, but the sheer level of bureaucratic inertia involved, the peer pressures and shit probably means its never used when it actually should be (because it would inconvenience someone down the line, and no Munitorum drone is going to risk his position or career for as something as trivial as necessity if its going to anger a superior.)
Page 24
Accusations that such a process is lengthy, complex, and disadvantageous to the quick supply of a regiment are baseless, for they are the result of tried and tested methods employed since the dawn of the Imperium. Such processes and procedures as were good enough for our forebears are surely good enough for us. Times may change but standards do not.
And if you persist in saying these things we'll sic our pet Commissars on you. Again, bureuacratic inertia rules. Small wonder they have black markets and scrounging and rely on other methods (direct requisition from local planets and such) rather than rely on the Munitorum supply lines.
Page 24 subscript
Any supply officers wishing to train in such procedures [requisitioning beyond levels of the planetary system of a regiment] must be no older than nineteen (19) Terran standard years to ensure that when/if they complete the decades of training they will still be fit enough to carry out their new duties.
Oh there's a career changing move.
Page 24 subscript
All Departmento Munitorum officers must be watchful for any misuse of these forms, as many Guardsmen will try to use such a privileged position to request a surplus of commonly required items to sell off for profit or to secure personal items...
yeah, I just bet they think that. Although given the Guard it wouldnt surprise me if some do. Again that 'black market' sort of thing.
Page 26
When approaching a Departmento Munitorum supply officer, a Guardsman is to show respect for the rank of the officer and couch his request in suitably deferential tones. In addition, he must:
...
Have all the proper paperwork filled out and authorised prior to his arrival at the supply station.
..
Behave in a manner to which he himself would wish to be treated
..
Respect the office of the Departmento Munitorum and its associated officers.
..
Accept the final judgement of the Departmento Munitorum in all things relating to supply and overall command of the Imperial Guard.
...
Take refusals of requests in the same spirit as he would their acceptance.
..
Be patient and refrain from raising his voice.
All that is done to simply recieve 'the same courtesy' although it has no bearing on the outcome of the request, and being rude can get you kicked out of the supply facility and them no longer being supply liaison offficer. Again its rather hilarious how this is slanted to indoctrinate people into Munitorum thinking. TRUST THE MUNITORUM. OBEY THE MUNITORUM. NEVER QUESTION THE MUNITORUM.
Page 26
..Guardsmen are obliged by the articles of war of the Departmento Munitorum to protect the stores of supplies at all costs from the depredations of the enemy. In the event of a retreat, the Departmento Munitorum officer will issue the order to destroy the supplies to prevent htem from falling into the hands of the enemy.
In case of invasion of the camp. Makes sense with some aliens (EG Orks) but I doubt Tau or 'Nids or Eldar ar all that eager to get hands on a Munitorum issue lasgun.
Page 26
..a surprise attack by ork Kommandos rendered the forward base of operations untenable and Captain Flane of the Departmento Munitorum ordered the supplies base destroyed by a strike from Basilisk mobile-artillery.
..
...claims that the loss of supplies hurt the Imperial force more than the orks have since been discounted.
Basilisk 'mobile artillery' although what context mobile is used.. your guess is as good as mine lol.
Also wouldnt surprise me if the loss of mateiral hurt the Imperials more. Remember as well 'EQUIPMENT IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN HUMAN LIFE. Unless the Munitourm says otherwise.
Page 28
The supply needs of a regiment whilst on active duty are different matter to when it is first raised; when local suppliers, merchants, and Imperially maintained facilities would be an integral part of a regiment's equipping. However, when stationed or moving through areas of the galaxy where an Imperial presence is not as established, a regiment may have to adopt other methods for the obtaining of essential equipment.
differences between logistics/supply when raising a regiment, and when the regiment is in the field. I actually suspect this may be more to circumvent the aformentioned munitorum bureaucratic bullshit where subeterfuge and scrounging fail to achieve their ends. If the Imperial Guard relied on the Munitorum as the sole source of supply, the Guard would fucking die.
Page 28
On worlds where an Imperial presence is less than complete, supplies may be requisitioned by the regiment by the transfer of Imperial Credit Units to the planet's Imperial commander. Such transfers will allow the passage of goods and services to the regiment lest the Commander be found wanting in his duty to the Emperor. For a previously decided amount, the Governor must authorise the shipment of arms and ordnance, food and water to the regiment's supply base. In theory, of course, these things should be supplied as a matter of course, but the passing of Imperial Credit Units often helps facilitate such transactions and negates any possible delay in resupply. When dealing with such planets, it is often best to obtain some local currency to pay local 'go-betweens' who can help smooth the resupply process.
..
Once supplies have been obtained in this way, any Imperial Credit Units spent should be recorded for addition to the planet's next tithe and will be claimed back by the Imperial Office of Outlays.
Imperial Credit Units. Many sources from different authors mention use of 'credits' as some form of payment or universal currency. Many have objected due to the SPACE FEUDALISM that the Imperium has no 'universal currency' - the analogue of a Dollar or Pound or whatever... but there has to be SOME common unit of measurement - the Munitorum and Administratum need some means by which to assess, compare, and measure tithes (whatever they are about distributing resources, they're very meticulous about collecting their share from those who owe them, so 'close enough' just wouldn't matter to such a bureaucratic mindset. Hell, the fact the credits they 'pay out' gets added to future tithe requirements shows that.)
It also may not go by a single term or be a single currency across the whole Imperium- credits could also be the Calixian 'Throne Gelt' for example, but credits are not used everywhere. Or maybe the single 'currency' only operates on a sector by sector or segmentum by segmentum basis (EG the throne gelt for the calixis sector 'currency', credits may be used in other sectors, etc.) Knowing the Munitorum, such a currency would probably be the finanicail equivalent of a regiment (EG each 'currency' is roughly equal.)
Page 29
Where the Imperial presence is established, such supplies are as needed by the regiment may be freely requisitioned and employed, as it is the honoured duty of each and every Imperial Governor to supply whatever regiments make make planetfall on his world. To do less than this is a crime and where stockpiles allow it, supplies should be transferred to the requesting regiment's Departmento Munitorum depot immediately upon request.
..
...whneever a regiment moves through Imperial space, it is assured a warm welcome and an uninterrupted chain of supply. Departmento Munitorum officers, such as Commissars are on hand to assist in any way they can when attending to such matters...
I woudl say this, and the aformentioned 'credit purchases' account for a great chunk of Imperial logistics - at least on the defensive, within the Imperium.
Page 29
There will be occasions when an Imperial Guard regiment is forced to make planetfall on worlds that either do not consider themselves part of the Imperium or are so far removed from cnetres of authority that they feel empowered to refuse the reasonable requests of an Imperial Guard regiment. Such worlds are to be considered hostile and the regiment is authorised to take whatever supplies it needs iwthout payment or debt incurred. Any who resist the regiment's requisitioning of the supplies it needs are to be considered an enemy and may be freely engaged by the Guardsmen of the regiment.
They also mention that the Munitorum officers on station (on the planet, presumably) are the final authority on whether or not a planet is 'hostile' and there is no appeal or change of the decision once made. This probably is a viable means of resupply (at least on a temporary, short term basis) if the forces involved are small (or you have a large number of planets to plunder from) but its unlikely you could continue to supply whole armies int he field stripping a single world. AS we learn, even the Munitorum is not THAT dumb.
Page 29
Due to the standardisation of supplies and euquipment throughout the galaxy, much of waht can be found on any human world will be suitable for the regiment's weapons and equipment.
This is probably a VERY loose application of the word standardization, but broadly true enough I suspect. It could also be we just have two different standards going.. you have the 'LCD' standard (lowest common denominator) which is 'it fits everything, but doesn't work the best' - the sort of mentality that has you recharging your guns on sunlight and running your tanks off plants and bark. On the other end, you have the 'makes you fairly effective supplies as long as the supply lines hold out' aspect. This is often from the novels, where you have powerpacks being discareded, or the Ghosts get the wrong lasgun packs, etc.
Either way there is a 'sort of' standardization, but its not so standardised that everything works together seamlessly either. The same 'too many worlds, too many cultures to prevent true centralization or unity' factors that limit the guard can also apply here.
Page 30
..sometimes a regiment will find itself beyond the reach of a Departmento Munitorum supply world, and in such cases the regiment will need to employ its own initiative to feed and supply its soldiers. When worlds capable of supporting human life are found, the Departmento Munitorum has empowered its offiers to strip the planet of any and all items as may assist the regiment in carrying out its duty to the Imperium. Any foodstuff, potable water, or any other item deemed necessary may be removed from the planet or any indigenous lifeforms as may possess them.
I wonder if 'Munitorum supply world' refers to something like Vraks. It clerly doesn't refer to just the Segmentum bases (again you can't handle the individual needs of a subsector much less a regiment at the Segmentum level, so they have to have planets, or at least distribution points, at the lower levels of command too)
And again we have requisitioning/plundering as a viable and accepted part of the Munitorum logistics process. Because running an efficient supply line themselves would be too tiresome and mean putting aside the bureaucratic BS.
Page 30
Due to the Emperor and the Adeptus Mechanicus's foresight in rendering much of the Imperium's technology remarkably similar throughout the galaxy, it is often a simple matter to discover such items as can be made use of by the regiments of the Imperial Guard.
'much of the tech remarkably similar' - but not quite identical, and not neccesarily perfect matches. which is understandable - the 'standardization' is simply a hedge against poor logistics to make sure they can improvise an effective solution and suchnot. again like 'running your lazers off sunlight or fire'
Page 30
The Departmento Munitorum Pioneer Corps is an essential part of any regimental expedition into regions of space where there is known to be a lack of Imperially held supply facilities, as Guard regiments may have to find foodstuffs where they can, and such foodstuffs may have to come from those who are not willing to part with them.
..
..each and every Guardsmen is obliged to take by force whatever he requires ot fufill his basic needs of survival. This 'living off the land' mentality is what lalows Imperial Guard regiments to operate beyond the safety net of Departmento Munitorum supply facilities....
Also supposedly means there is nowhere the Imperium's enemies can hide. The problem I have with this will come up with we get to the 'Space MRE' part of the book, where they mention that troopers that get the wrong sort of foodstuff than they're used to (the whole 'different planets/cultures thing) means they can get violently ill. So its not like they can just rip off food willy nilly and give it to the troops expecting them to survive. too many different cultures, too many different biological adjustments and requirements and such, even if they are broadly human.
On the other hand as I recall some sources indicate they have 'food processors or syntehsizers' or whatever that can make food edible. I suspect such 'adaptations' can be important in the field.
Page 31
..such a policy is not without risk and can lead to the rise of insurgents mobilising in a form of guerrilla warfare. Care must be taken that when a regiment is stripping a planet of its resources and plans to remain there (either actively fighting ont he planet's surface or simply garrisoning it) it must leave the minimum required to allow the population to survive. It has been documented by the Office of Imperial Acquisitions that any populace that achieves even very limited success in resisting the supply requisitions of the Departmento Munitorum are those where a charismatic leader is able to twist the necessity of what is being done into something wicked. If the supply needs of the regiment are so great as to demand the total stripping of a planet's resources, then such individuals must be eliminated with extreme prejudice.
It's mentoned that one regiment was too thorough in such pillaging, which lead to the Governor creating a successful insurrection that blunted the efforts of the Guard in conquest and required far more lives be spent to take the planet than had been predicted. Munitorum foresight strikes again! (and once again, simply having an effective logistical setup would obviate these problems, but this is the Munitorum again.) But as I said before, at least they're not completely retarded enough to rely strictly on plunder to support their armies.
Page 31
..when a lost world of humanity may be discovered that is ripe for embracing to the Imperium.
..
..representatives from the Missionarus Galaxia (at least one of whom should be travelling with every expeditionary fleet) must begin the process of assimilating the local culture into the Imperium. By such measures, worlds that might have reissted the coming of the Emperor's armies can be persuaded to part with basic foodstuffs and essential needs of a regiment without the risk of insurgents.
Goes on to summarize that there are great many means by which logistics and supplies can be obtained - by force, through requisition from Imperial Commanders, or negotiation with local populace. It beats forcible plunder, I suppose.
Another subscript example describes part of a regiment lost in a warp storm, landing on a planet, and the Missionaries converting the planet to the Imperial cult. When the rest of the regiment arrived a decade later, they found a planet willing to give up needed supplies (and men) to the regiment's needs.
Page 32
These requirements [make war] are met by concentrating on the following fundamentals: physical fitness of each Guardsmen. squad and platoon battle drills and, most importantly, care and accountability of a Guardsman's equipment and weaponry.
Munitorum-defined 'requirements' that mut be met for the Guard able to go to war.
Page 33
Every Guardsmen must be physically able, tactically competent, and prepared for what will be asked of him. Every Guardsman must be able to move tactically over any terrain, and manoeuvre against any enemy to kill him. The Imperial Guard infantry squad is the building block of the regiment and every member of every squad must live by and embody a warrior ethos.
requirements of a Guardsman and the importance of the squad.
Page 33
When deployment orders come in with little or no notice, it is essential to know that the squad has everything it is supposed to have and that it works the way it is supposed to work. No matter the conditions, a Guardsman is expected to account for all his equipment and maintain it in a condition where it is ready for use at any time.
Its a good thing its meant to be durable and reliable for this reason.
Page 33
The weapons and equipment supplied to each and every Guardsmen is designed to be functional and efficient, witht he bare minimum of maintenance neccessary to keep it in working order.
Maintenance is still neccessary of course.
Page 34
Every world in the Imperium supplies the armies of the Emperor with men, but only a handful have the means and wherewithal to supply those armies with weapons, tanks, and specialised equipment. A million worlds suppply a million men and to be a Guardsman in such times is to live in an age of war, where worlds burn and armies of billions march into the fire of battle every day. Thus it is an inescapable conclusion that while men of flesh and blood are plentiful, arms and equipment are not.
Though the Adeptus Mechanicus strives daily to meet the burdeden of requirements laid upon it by the Imperial Guard, Adeptus Astartes, Adeptus Sororitas, Imperial Navy, and countless other organs of the Imerial Will, it is a fact of life that such demands cannot always be met. And though the quest for knowledge goes on, much of the technology that was once common in the early days of the Imperium is now lost to us. The armiues of the Imperium march to war upon the bones of ancient technology and as such it is more precious than any one man could ever be, whether he is the lowliest Whiteshield or highest Warmaster.
Tell the Krieg that men ar replacable but equipment aren't. More Munitorum propoganda, if you can't tell, given they say 'all this great technology can't always be available'. I'm again reminded of vraks and the way the Munitorum just kept stockpiling shit tons of supplies, vehicles, weapons and the like in context with that.
Anyhow implied a million men from a million worlds. Which means either.. one man per world, or a million men each from a million worlds.. or a trillion guardsmen which fits a bit better with the subsequent reference to billions. We also get discussion of the Forge Worlds and their place in the logisitcal framework of the Mighty Munitorum.
Page 34
Every world throughout the Imperium is obliged to supply the Imperium's armies with men and material, and the logarithmics required by the Office of the Imperial Census to ensure that the Imperium has an almost limitless supply of men to feed into the jaws of the Imperial Guard.
Much of page 34 and 35 go on in this same vein. More propoganda really, since the 'limitless supply' of men would only be true if you intend to throw poorly trained (or untrained) fodder into the jaws of conflict. Which the Imperium will do sometimes, but as a routine tactic it wouldn't do much as most races (like the Orks and Tyranids) are either better at it, or (like the tau and Eldar) fight in such a way that makes such ineffective.
Besides, I find it hard to believe that the MIGHTY MUNITORUM would so lightly brush off the logistical and financial requirements tied up in the training, feeding, housing, transport, health care and other requirements of creating and supporting a guardsman. Again they can go on and on about how manpower is plentiful and tech isn't, but they don't grow soldiers overnight either.. it takes close to decades of growht (and resource investment) and thats juts BEFORE the training.
Page 34
Whether they be feral savages recruited from the most hostile death worlds, hive gangers from the teeming anthills of worlds such as Armageddon or educated men from the civilised worlds of mankind, they are all the same when they enter the Imperial Guard.
About the only 'standardisation' possible really.
Page 34
Even as the men [of the Cadian 91st] were fighting and dying in the trenches against the manifold horrors...
...
With this inexhaustible resource, Guardsmen were fed into battle until the enemy forces lost heart and were repulsed.
..
Final estimates of the dead range from 100,000 to 300,000 for the first few days, though such figures are conjectural since record keeping during the fighting was somewhat lax and slovenly.
Blah blah grimdark.. blah blah. note this would onyl work against someone who you could defeat psychologically. ORks and Tyranids would not give in like this, nor would many Chaos troops I could imagine. And certainly not the Necrons.
Page 35
Thus, while men may be replaced, technology, once lost, may be gone forever and thus it is of the greatest importance that every Guardsmen's equipment be maintained and recovered. Some equipment, such as lasguns, may be replaced if lost or damaged, but more specialised equipment, such as vox-casters, plasma guns and meltaguns must be recovered from the dead at all costs. Though it is often hard for the average Guardsman to accept, his life is less important than the technology he carries with him into battle. It is the duty of every officer of the Guard to impress upon his Guardsmen that, when given the choice of saving a comrade or rescuing a piece of fallen equipment, they must choose to save the equipment.
Again this 'tech is more important than men' would be believable if it weren't ofr the high value they place on the Krieg, who take the Munitorum attrition mentality and then ramp it up to 150%. And for the equipment and tech as much as the men.
In practice this indoctrination is about as uesful as much of it is (EG uplifting primer) - troopers and officers look out for their own, and will actually treat soldiers and tech as equal.
Page 35
Centuries of usage has shown that this is the most functional and useful state to issue kit and though there may occasionally come a time when such is not the case, it remains facct that kit issued to Guardsmen must NOT be altered, adapted, or otherwise modified from the state in which it was issued. There are numerous instances where a trooper (and thus his squadmates, and thus the regiment) has suffered due to unauthorised modification of kit and each stands as a salutary example of why such things should not be attempted.
Again Munitorum propoganda bullshit. It gets altered, modified, and whatnot. and bad shit doens't happen for the most part (although it can, and there is a certain truth to the idea that a dude not formally educated on such matters is taking risks fiddling iwth tech.)
Page 35
The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer provides basic guidance on the maintenance of weapons, but this should not be treated as definitive, more a starting point for further training.
BWAHAHAHA for the uplifting primer being useful at anything. although its nice to know they don't treat it as definitive, I think.
Page 35
.. it is statistically likely that a Guardsman will die within the first six months of his recruitment and thus equipment is often passed down from soldier to solider - despite foolish soldiers' supersitions that warn againt the 'bad luck' associated with such items. It is, therefore, in the best interest of each trooper to maintain his equipment in its original state so that, upon his death, it may be passed down to another Guardsman better able to serve the Emperor.
They go on to say its likely that a Guardsman's kit at some point will be a hand me down from another dead guardsman (and hence another reason not to modify) Like that stopped anyone. Still, six months is better than fifteen hours.
I alos like the bit bout dismissing superstition.
Page 35
On the sixty-fifth day of the Siege of Pralomax, Ice Delta, the Oberon Bastion was overrun when the enemy forces took advantage of the fact that the Guardsmen stationed there had modified the power packs of their lasguns to heat their bivouacs during the freezing storms that periodically swept the fortress. When the next assault came, the Guardsmen there had not enough shots left in their guns to repel the attackers and the fortress fell.
THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!
In other terms, if we assume a single lasgun pack to heat the temp from 250K to 300K in a 2x2x2m space would be ~500 kj per pack roughly. With 150 shots per power pack you get ~3.34 kj per shot.
Page 36
Its [kit] maintenance is his duty and it must not be left to his armourer who issues the weapon...
REference to (probably) regimental armourers.
Page 36
Mondax prime is a barren, desert world on the southern reaches of Segmentum Solar, a world that would be of little importance were it not for the vast Promethium deposits lying below the surface of its mountains. Much of what is on Mondax Prime is shipped to the hive world of Armageddon for refining into weapons grade material. Ork raidersf rom the Waaagh! of Warlord Grashnak had invaded and seized the Promethium production facilities..
...
... a Salvar weapon misfired and the resultant explosion ignited Promethium fumes and sent a rushing wall of fire ripping down into the deposits beneath the mountains. The entire mountain range was obliterated in a sheet of fire and what was once a mountain range is now a huge, continent-spanning gorge. All this from one misfiring lasgun power pack...
Another SUPER PROMETHIUM explosion like from Caves of Ice, and judging by the effects of similar magnitude. We dont know how much was there, but thats got to be a shitload of energy either way. Also 'weapons grade' promethium.. I wonder if that means SUPER FLAMER FUEL
Page 40
Any soldier who, through neglect or deliberate malfeasance, allows the power packs of his weapon to drain to a level where there is less than 50% charge (at time of mesurement, not offence) at any time prior to a combat action will be flogged.
Minimum charge level on a power pack is 50% acceptable.
Page 40
Any soldier who leaves his weapon on the field of battle without prior permission of his superor officer will be shot.
..
Note: Any officer who gives permission for weapons or equipment to be left upon the battlefield is to be brought up on the same charge, and upon guilty verdict is to be shot.
They shoot for delibeately damaging equipment. Thety will also flog and shoot, or imprison and flog and shoot. The hilarity and nonsensical-ness of Munitorum rules.
Page 41
Each soldier shall carry about his person, or have stowed in his billet, enough ammunition to fire not less than 500 shots from his primary lasgun.
When you couple this with the 'not letting a power packs drain to less than 50%) that means 100% draw would be 1000 shots at least. for 4-6 packs that works out to between 150-250 shots per pack.
Page 41
Any soldier who finds himself unable to prosecute the foe with ballistic, laser, or plasma weapons shall, upon return to base, be incarcerated for not less than sixty days. He shall then be found guilty of Failing to Maintain Adequate Supplies of Ammunition.
Mainly interesting that it includes plasma weapons (but not melta? Or flamethrower?) It also doesn't include any close range weapons, which suggests that Guardsmen don't rely on bayonets routinely in combat as the preferred method to kill the enemy. I mean if they still had a bayonet but no ammo, they can still charge the enemy...
Page 41
Any soldier who employs the sacred battle gear of the Deparrtmento Munitorum to commit (or attempt to commit) suicide will be shot, have his name stricken from the regimental roll of honour, his ashes vaporised and his next of kin invoiced fro the cost of his expended kit.
BWAHAHA. EVen more absurd. Or rather petty of the Munitorum (esp the 'invoice your next of kin for oyur kit') What's even more pathetic is I can see them doing this (executing a corpse, cremating it...) The punishment is more effort than the suicide attempt.
Page 41
Any soldier who fails to utilise his weapons or equipment in its primary purpose of discomfiting the enemy - either through misuse or personal use - will be stripped of that weapon and sent into battle without it then found guilty of "Failing to Carry a Weapon at all Times."
Even more hilarious is if they are found guilty of not using Munitorum weapons and equipment to attack the enemy will be stripped of the weapon and sent into battle unarmd... and then found guilty of 'failing to carry a weapon at all times.'
Page 42
Any soldier caught ustilising his anti-contaminant tablets in the production of illicit alcohol from engine fuel of fyceline blocks shall be forced to drink the entirety of the liquor produced. If he survives, he will be shot.
fyceline is both an explosive and engine fuel. Which says that fyceline is perhaps akin to a FAE in some ways or its super black powder (although in real life we never quite made black powder engines work.) given the alcohol analogies its probably hinting at pretty high energy densities (At least as far as chemical reactions go.) which again points to the Imperium having some pretty damn impressive explosives and chemical technology.
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